This invention relates generally to the field of vehicle racks and more particularly to a system and method for transporting a boat on the cargo bed of a pickup truck.
Small, lightweight watercraft is typically transported on specially designed trailers towed by a truck or SUV. This method requires that the boat owner obtain a trailer tag or license plate permitting operation of the trailer on public roads, buy insurance, obtain a license for a trailer, etc. Moreover, the owner must find a space in which to store the trailer when not in use. Further, a boat stored on a trailer in the owner's back yard can be easily stolen by miscreants backing up to a trailer that contains the boat and towing the trailer with the boat away.
Alternatively, the boats can be secured in the beds of large pickup trucks by ropes, cables or “bungee” cords. However, this method can be time-consuming and inadequate for securing the boat in the truck bed if not performed properly. Additionally, the ease of loading and unloading a boat depends in large part on the terrain of a river bank or lake shore. Often times, the banks are very steep, without a ramp, and the trailer wheels sink into the clay, making it impossible to launch a watercraft into the water.
The present invention contemplates elimination of drawbacks associated with conventional methods of transporting a watercraft and provision of a rack apparatus detachably mountable on a pickup truck and configured to support a boat.